Contents

Covers are commonly used in the context of topology. If the set X is a topological space, then a coverC of X is a collection of subsets Uα of X whose union is the whole space X. In this case we say that CcoversX, or that the sets UαcoverX. Also, if Y is a subset of X, then a cover of Y is a collection of subsets of X whose union contains Y, i.e., C is a cover of Y if

Let C be a cover of a topological space X. A subcover of C is a subset of C that still covers X.

We say that C is an open cover if each of its members is an open set (i.e. each Uα is contained in T, where T is the topology on X).

A cover of X is said to be locally finite if every point of X has a neighborhood which intersects only finitely many sets in the cover. Formally, C = {Uα} is locally finite if for any x ∈ X, there exists some neighborhood N(x) of x such that the set

is finite. A cover of X is said to be point finite if every point of X is contained in only finitely many sets in the cover. (locally finite implies point finite)

A refinement of a cover C of a topological space X is a new cover D of X such that every set in D is contained in some set in C. Formally,

is a refinement of

.

In other words, there is a refinement map satisfying for every . This map is used, for instance, in the Čech cohomology of X.[1]

Every subcover is also a refinement, but the opposite is not always true. A subcover is made from the sets that are in the cover, but omitting some of them; whereas a refinement is made from any sets that are subsets of the sets in the cover.

Generally speaking, a refinement of a given structure is another that in some sense contains it. Examples are to be found when partitioning an interval (one refinement of being ), considering topologies (the standard topology in euclidean space being a refinement of the trivial topology). When subdividing simplicial complexes (the first barycentric subdivision of a simplicial complex is a refinement), the situation is slightly different: every simplex in the finer complex is a face of some simplex in the coarser one, and both have equal underlying polyhedra.

A topological space X is said to be of covering dimensionn if every open cover of X has a point finite open refinement such that no point of X is included in more than n+1 sets in the refinement and if n is the minimum value for which this is true.[2] If no such minimal n exists, the space is said to be of infinite covering dimension.